Norm and I live in a beautiful city that attracts a lot of tourists every summer. A few years ago I realized that we were missing out on what other people spent a lot of money and dedicated time to see and explore. It was too easy to just work through the summer and not engage in it, so we decided to be proactive in this regard. So here a few things we've enjoyed doing so far.
We played as Mr. & Mrs. Strauss at our own city's Canada Day celebrations.
Just this past week on July 1, 2026, we celebrated Canada’s 159th anniversary of Confederation, a milestone that connects us back to the historic union of 1867 and gives us a moment to reflect on our shared history, our growth, and where we go from here.
Check ou this short video of us performing!
https://youtube.com/shorts/PyahNIlo80c?si=5SBT03dlLAQmYD8T
My daughter and grandson looking on. "Nana and Pops on the stage!"
Every Sunday we're going to places we've never been or haven't been to in years. This is Myra Canyon. Perched high above the valley, this spectacular section of the historic Kettle Valley Railway is a true engineering marvel, featuring 18 intricate wooden trestles and two hand-carved tunnels that hug the steep canyon walls. Norm and I stopped often to image how, back in the early 1900s, men blasted through rock and built steep trellesses, to get steam powered trains through British Columbia's intimidating terrain. Back breaking and dangerous!
There was a devastating fire 2003, which swept through the canyon and destroyed 12 of these historic wooden structures. The loss felt deeply personal to our community, but the incredible effort to rebuild and restore them over the following years stands as a testament to local resilience.
View of City of Kelowna in the distance
Norm at the entrance of one of the tunnels
Kelowna is a city of backyard pools, and, though we're not one to compete with the Joneses, we do feel the heat in the same way. :) So we put up this little splash pool.
Our daughter-in-law with Sully. She and Jordan have big news. Baby B is coming in December!
So this is summer for us so far. I'll blog a few more times over the summer to record other adventures.
IN WRITING NEWS
Murder at Lake Como released in June and is getting good reviews. If you haven't had a chance to check it out, you can do so here: https://books2read.com/GGM-lakecomo
I'm busy writing Murder on Black Tuesday - the second to last Ginger Gold Mysteries (1920s) set in Boston in October of 1929. On a scheduled trip to visit Haley Higgins, Ginger and Basil find themselves in the middle of a stock market crash murder. https://books2read.com/GGM-BlackTuesday